Electrical fixture



8, 1.941. M. s. WIDE'RQE 2,263,060

ELECTRICAL FIXTURE Filed Dcn 22, 1938 i 2 SheetsSheet 1 N 1941. 54. s. WIDEROE 2,263,060 I I ELECTRICAL FIXTURE Filed Dec. 22, 1938" 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 18, 1941 ELECTRICAL FIXTURE Marshall s. Wideroe, Northbrook, 111., assignor to Benjamin Electric Mfg. Company, Des Plaines, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December 22, 1938, Serial No. 247,240

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an electrical fixture.

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of a fixture which may be readily detached from a permanently located electrical outlet such as might be positioned in a wall or ceiling. A further object of this invention is the provision of improved means for installing lighting fixtures in a suitable outlet positioned in a ceiling which may be readily detached therefrom. A further object of this invention is toprovide improved means whereby a lighting fixture may be readily detached from its position in a ceiling without the necessity of separately disconnecting the wires extending into the fixture.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved means whereby a reflector may be secured to an enameled reflector bowl.

Further and additional objects will appear from the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a lighting fixture constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention secured to a ceiling;

Fig. 2 is a partial side view of the construction shown in Fig. 1 in which the hood is raised and a tool for disconnecting the lighting fixture from the stationary unit is shown engaged with the detachable unit, the dotted lines indicating the direction in which the detachable unit may be Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 3;.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the upper portion of the detachable unit adaptable to be mounted on the stationary unit shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the portion of the detachable unit shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view of a tool that may. be employed for detaching an electrical fixture constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a nut having vertically extending members adaptable to engage a strap to which it may be securedj and Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a strap to which is secured the nut shown in Fig. 8, whereby a hole in the strap registers with the threaded hole of the nut.

This invention contemplates the provision of an electrical fixture which may be readily detached from position in a wall or ceiling, It com.-

prises a stationary unit comprising wiring terminals and receptacle contacts, which unit may Electrical contacts are provided in the stationary and detachable units so that contact will be made when the fixture hangs in normal position but will be broken when the detachable unit is pivoted out of alignment and the detachable unit is disengaged from the stationary'unit.

This invention further contemplates the provision of an electrical fixture having an enameled bowl portion and a reflector which may be secured together in a new and improved manner.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, specific reference will now be had to the drawings. As shown in Fig. l, a lighting fixture may be suspended from an outlet box I0 by means of suitable connections including the wire conduit I I. prise a suitable inverted dished reflector I2, an enameled bowl I3, a lamp socket I4, and a ,mechanical connector sleeve I5 in which the end, which are detachably engageable in two notches I8 in the casing I9 of the stationary unit I 20. The stationary unit 20 is secured to the end of the conduit I I by means of a bracket 2| which is secured to the stationary member 20 by means of screws 22 extending therethrough. The bracket 2| is secured to a strap 23 by means of bolts 24. The strap 23 embraces the end of the conduit I I and is held in position by means of a bolt 25 which extends through the bracket 2|, the conduit I I, and the strap 23. The stationary unit 20 is thus firmly secured to the lower end of the conduit II.

The stationary unit 2|] may comprise a wiring and contact base 26' of anysuitable insulating .material and a suitable metallic casing I9 placed over the upper portion of the base 26 in order to protect it. The conduit II extends through the casing I9 into the base 26 in order to provide The detachable unit may com a passage for wires (not shown) extending through the conduit I I to the wiring terminals for electrical contact supports 21 positioned within the insulating base 26. The electrical contact supports 21 are secured within the base 26 by means of suitable screws 28 extending through the base and threaded directly into the contact supports 21. Binding screws 28 may be threaded into the contact supports 21 in order to permit the wires (not shown), extending from the conduit I I, to be electrically connected to the contact supports. At the extreme ends of the contact supports 21 may be secured suitable contact clips 30 Which are positioned Within recesses 3| of the base 26 and. are adapted to engage registering contacting blades 32 which are mounted on the insulating base 34 of the socket I4 positioned within the connector sleeve I of the detachable unit. The contact blades 32 are also electrically connected with the socket contacts. Suitable V-shaped notches 33 are provided adjacent the recesses 3| in order to direct the blades 32 into the recesses 3| and between the spring contact clips 30.

The detachable unit comprises the hollow cylindrical shell or sleeve I5 within which may be positioned the lamp socket I4 carrying contact blades 32. The contact blades 32 extend above the upper portion of the lamp socket from a suitable insulating base 34 to which the vertically extending blades 32 are secured by means of screws 35 and 36. One of the screws 35 electrically connects one of the contacts 32 with the shell contact of the lamp socket I4. The insulating base 34 is secured to the connector sleeve I5 by means of suitable cars 31 extending inwardly from the side walls of the sleeve. The ears 31 and the base 34 may be secured together by suitable screws 38.

The shell contact of the socket I4 may be of any suitable construction and may be secured to the under side of the insulating base 34 by means of suitable screws 35, 36, and 39. One of the contacts 32 is electrically connected with the center contact of the socket by means of the screw 36. The connector sleeve I5 has oppositely disposed ears 48 extending from its upper edges, to which may be secured the two inwardly projecting members IT. The members I'I may be riveted or welded to the ears 4!] and are adapted to rest within the oppositely disposed notches or grooves I8 in the upper portion of the casing I9. The detachable member is pivotally mounted on the stationary member by means of the members II resting in the grooves I8. The blades 32 within the connector sleeve I5 are positioned so that they will engage the contact clips 38 within the stationary member 20 when the detachable member is suspended from the pivots I'I within the groove I8.

A vertically extending hood 4| which is slidably mounted on the conduit II may be positioned to cover the stationary unit 28 and the connector sleeve I5. The hood 4| has shoulder portions 42 adjacent the upper end thereof which rest upon the casing I9 and thereby support the hood. The hood 4| may be moved vertically along the conduit II as indicated in Fig. 2 in order to permit the detachable unit to be pivotally swung out of alignment with the conduit II and the stationary unit 28. A means may be provided for holding the hood 4| in the raised position which comprises suitable ears 43 positioned on the upper outside edges of the bracket 2|, which secures the stationary member 20 to the conduit II.

The lighting fixture, when connected and in use, is in the position indicated in Fig. 1. The hood 4| is down and the detachable connector I5 is housed thereby. In order to detach the lighting fixture from the conduit I and the stationary unit 26, the hood 4| is first raised and held in the raised position by resting a lower edge of the hood 4| on the bracket 2| inside of one of the ears 43. The entire detachable unit, including the reflector I2 and bowl I3, may then be swung on the pivot members I! so that the contact blades 32 are disengaged from the clips 38 and are wholly removed from the recess 3| and the notch 33 in the stationary member 26. The whole detachable unit may then be lifted away from the stationary unit 20 by lifting upwardly, whereby the inwardly projecting pivot members H are removed from the grooves I8 in the upper portion of the casing 26.

It is often desirable to remove and interchange fixtures of this type from ceilings which are not conveniently accessible except by means of step ladders or suitable scaffolding. A lighting fixture mounted in accordance with this invention may be readily removed, however, by means of a suitable tool which may be fastened to the end of a long pole. The tool comprises a bifurcated member 44 which may be secured to a pole 45 of any suitable length by means of brads or screws 46. Rubber sleeves 41 may be provided on each of the prongs 48 of the bifurcated member 44, if desired. The ends of the prongs 48 are spread somewhat further apart than the portions of the prongs adjacent the base. Thus, the outwardly extending portion is adapted to engage the hood 4| for lifting it and the inside portion of the fork is adapted to engage the connector sleeve I5, whereby it may be tilted. Upwardly and inwardly extending members 49 may be provided in the prongs which are adapted to abut outwardly and downwardly extending tongues 50 positioned on opposite sides of the connector sleeve I5 and adjacent the central portion thereof.

In removing the lighting fixture with the tool, the hood 4| is first lifted into the position shown in Fig, 2 by means of the fork in the tool. The rubber sleeves 4'! are provided in order to prevent the hood 4| from becoming scratched and also to provide a frictional engagement of the tool with the hood so that the latter may be readily lifted into position. The tool then may be positioned so that the prongs 48 extend around the connector sleeve I5 and the base of the prongs 48 bears against the sides of the connector sleeve I5. The tool is raised so that the upwardly and inwardly extending members 49 abut the sides of the tongues 58 on the connector sleeve I5 in order to lock the tool 44 in position. Movement of the handle 45 of the tool downwardly in a vertical direction in the pivotal plane of the detachable member will cause a portion of the tool to bear down against the outside rim of the bowl portion I3. The whole detachable portion of the fixture is thereby pivoted to the left as shown in Fig. 2 and the contact blades 32 become disengaged from the contact clips 36 in the stationary unit 28. When the fixture has been tilted to such an extent that sufiicient clearance is provided, the detachable unit may be readily lifted free from the grooves I8 in the stationary unit casing I9 and the whole detachable portion may be brought down from the ceiling on the end of the pole 45. For attaching the detachable unit to the stationary unit, the reverse procedure is employed.

A particular feature of this invention is to provide a means for securing the reflector to the bowl portion of the lighting fixture. It is desirable in many instances to provide arefiector of polished aluminum or stainless steel in a lighting fixture which is to be attached to an enameled metal bowl. It has not been satisfactory to secure these elements together simply by means of bolts threaded directly into the enameled portion, since it is impractical to preserve threads during the enamelingoperation and it is difiicult subsequently to thread the enameled portions without chipping the enamel. It has consequently become desirable to provide a means whereby the reflector may be bolted or otherwise threadably secured to the enameled bowl in any desired position.

In accordance with one embodiment of this feature of this invention, as is shown in Figs. 1, 8, and 9, a strap may be welded to the bowl portion adjacentthe point where it is desired to attach the reflector portion previous to the enameling operation. The strap 5| may be U-shaped, having a hole 52 positioned in its apex adapted to register with a corresponding hole in the reflector.

After the bowl and strap have been welded and enameled, a nut, shown in Fig. 8, may be firmly engaged to the strap 5|. The nut 53 has a threaded hole 54 which is adapted to register with the hole 52 in the strap 5|. The nut 53 may be provided with a plurality of outwardly extending members 55 which are adaptable to embrace the strap 5|, as shown in Fig. 9. The upwardly extending members 55 may have outwardly extending portions 56 which are adaptable to fit the contour of the hole 52 when the members 55 are bent around the strap and the nut 53 is clamped in place.

Thus, a nut has been provided which may be separately but firmly attached to an enameled strap. This construction is particularly desirable, since the reflector and bowl may be secured directly by means of a bolt 51 without the necessity of providing threaded portions in the enameled bowl or strap. The construction also renders it unnecessary that access be had to the nut to hold it in place while the bolt is screwed thereinto, since the nut is firmly secured to the strap as if it were an integral part thereof.

While a particular embodiment of this invention is shown above, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is contemplated, therefore, to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a readily serviceable lighting fixture the combination with a permanent fixture supporting structure and a quickly detachable lighting unit of means for establishing. fixture supporting and current conducting cooperation therebetween comprising a terminal portion on said permanent fixture supporting structure having supporting slots accessible from the ,top, and laterally accessible contact slots having concealed electrical contacts therein, said quickly detachable lighting unit having an upper portion with supporting fingers for engagement with the supporting slots and electrical contacts for engagement with the concealed electrical contacts through said laterally accessible slots whereby interfitting the supporting fingers into the slots and movement of the lighting unit into alignment with the fixture supporting structure causes the electrical contacts on the unit to enter the slots and engage the contacts on the terminal portion of the fixture supporting structure.

2. In a readily serviceable lighting fixture the combination with a permanent fixture supporting structure and a quickly detachable lighting unit of means for establishing fixture supporting and current conducting cooperation therebetween comprising a terminal portion on said permanent fixture supporting structure having supporting slots accessibl from the top, and laterally accessible contact slots having concealed electrical contacts therein, said quickly detachable lighting unit having an upper portion with supporting fingers for engagement with the supporting slots and electrical contacts for engagement with the concealed electrical contacts through said laterally accessible slots whereby interfitting the supporting fingers into the slots and movement of the lighting unit into alignment with the fixture supporting structure causes the electrical contacts on the unit to enter the slots and engage the contacts on the terminal portion of the fixture supporting structure, and locking means to retain said parts in operating relation.

3. An electric lighting fixture comprising an elevated unit and a suspended unit, said elevated unit having quick detachable contacts and quick detachable hook pivot means, said suspended unit comprising quick detachable contacts for engagement and disengagement with respectto the contacts on the elevated unit, and quick detachable hook pivot means, said hook pivot means being engageable with the hook pivot means on the elevated unit by lateral and'downward move-v ment of said suspended unit and disengageable by lateral and upward movement, said elevated unit and suspended unit having cooperating abutments brought into vertical alignment by lateral movement of the suspended unit, and releasable locking means for holding the abutments in vertical alignment comprising a sleeve slidable on the elevated unit movable into and out of engagement with the suspended unit.

4. An electric lighting fixture comprising an I elevated unit and a suspended unit, said elevated unit having quick detachable contacts and quick detachable hook pivot means, said suspended unit comprising quick detachable contacts for engagement and disengagement with respect to the con- MARSHALL s. WIDEROE. 

